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The Tomb of the Istacidi, Pompeii

Giovanni Battista PiranesiAbout 1777

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
Copenhagen, Danmark

During the 1770s Piranesi visited Pompeii on several occasions. Perhaps he intended to publish a large-scale illustrated volume about this ancient city, buried under four or five metres of ashes since Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and until excavations began in 1748. 12 drawings from Pompeii A total of twelve Piranesi drawings showing various locations in Pompeii survive today. All of them are executed in the same manner. First, the scene was lightly traced by hand in pencil, then the main lines of the perspective structure were touched up using a pencil and ruler, and then everything - houses, sculptures, broken columns, inquisitive archaeologists and curious tourists - was given shape and mass by means of a reed pen and brownishblack ink. The drawing's motif The scene depicted here is located close to the Herculaneum gates and can still be found today. Everything is, however, rather more modest in appearance than this drawing would indicate. As the art historian Erik Fischer said: "Piranesi makes this scene sublime with the dark, concise force of his pen strokes. Tomb visitors bend over the resting places of the ancient dead. A learned nobleman, typical of the times, bids a dignified welcome to the shadowy figure emerging from the door to the right, as though hailing one of the Istacidi out from oblivion."

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  • Title: The Tomb of the Istacidi, Pompeii
  • Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
  • Creator Lifespan: 1720 Venezia - 1778 Roma
  • Creator Nationality: Italian
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Roma
  • Creator Birth Place: Venezia
  • Date Created: About 1777
  • Værktekst: I løbet af 1770’erne besøgte Piranesi ved flere lejligheder Pompeji. Muligvis med henblik på udgivelsen af et større illustreret værk om denne oldtidsby, som siden Vesuvs udbrud i år 79 og indtil udgravningen af den begyndte i 1748, havde ligget gemt under et fire-fem meter tykt lag aske. 12 skildringer fra Pompeji Der er bevaret i alt tolv tegninger af Piranesi med skildringer af forskellige lokaliteter i Pompeji. De er alle udført på principielt samme måde. Først er motivet skitseret med blyant og let hånd, siden er hovedlinjerne i den perspektiviske konstruktion trukket op med blyant og lineal, hvorefter alt - huse, skulpturer, søjlerester, videbegærlige arkæologer og nysgerrige turister - har fået form og fylde ved hjælp af rørpen og brunsort blæk. Tegningens motiv Motivet her er hentet ikke langt fra Herkulaneum-porten og kan stadigvæk påvises. Det hele tager sig imidlertid langt mere ydmygt ud, end tegningen giver indtryk af. Med kunsthistorikeren Erik Fischers ord: "Piranesi gør motivet storslået med pennestrøgenes knappe, mørke kraft. Gravsøgere bøjer sig over de gamle dødes hvilesteder. En tidstypisk lærd kavallér byder værdigt velkommen til den skyggelignende gestalt, der lister frem fra trappedøren til højre, som var det en af Istacidierne selv, der hilstes ud af glemslen."
  • Teknik: Blyant, rørpen og sort blæk
  • Proveniens: Køb 1853
  • Dansk link: http://www.smk.dk/index.php?id=1300
  • Dansk Titel: Istacidiernes grav nær Herculanum-porten i Pompeji
  • Physical Dimensions: w77.5 x h51.5 cm (Without frame)
  • Provenance: Acquired 1853
  • Type: Drawing
  • Rights: Statens Museum for Kunst, http://www.smk.dk/en/copyright/creative-commons/
  • Medium: Pencil, reed pen, black ink
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